By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 9 -- Yemen is cited by the UN and its Security Council as one of their success, which between South Sudan, Haiti and the Central African Republic are increasingly rare.
So when the government in Sana'a deported journalist Adam Baron, what did the UN do or say?
On May 9, Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq,video here, transcript here:
Inner City Press: Yemen has deported a journalist named Adam Baron, who was described as one of the few foreign correspondents in the country, and I wanted to know if the Secretariat or Mr. Benomar has any comment on that?
Deputy Spokesman Haq: I don’t have any comment on that at this stage, no.
Now, Yemen has rejected entry by another journalist, Tik Root.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni government bragged of being praised by the UN, even as it is the only country, according to Under Secretary General for Management Yukio Takasu, which has been banned from voting in the General Assembly due to a failure to pay dues.
Yemen has until May 16 to seek an exemption. But couldn't the UN use that as some leverage for free press -- if it wanted?
State media SABA on May 7 reported:
SANA'A, May 07 (Saba) - Interior Minister Abdo al-Tarib met here on Wednesday with Under Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security Kevin Kennedy.
During the meeting, al-Tarib and Kennedy discussed the possible means to enhance mutual security cooperation Yemen and the UN. The Minister underlined the Interior Ministry's adherence to strengthen the cooperation relations with the UN in the security field.
For his part, Kennedy praised the great successes achieved by the security services in cracking down on terrorists, stressing the UN's willingness to strengthen cooperation with Yemen.
So what about deporting journalists? When Inner City Press on behalf of the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked the UN Secretariat for comment on the jailing by Ethiopia of journalists including the Zone 9 bloggers, no comment came. The UN has a big office in Addis. What of its success story in Yemen? Watch this site.
